Israeli Military Strikes Hamas Outposts in Gaza Strip

The Israeli military struck several Hamas outposts in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday afternoon in response to shots fired at Israeli forces, according to the IDF spokesperson’s unit. The Israeli army reported no casualties in both incidents.

One outpost is reported to be east of Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip, and two additional outposts in southern Gaza.

Shots were fired from the Gaza Strip towards homes in the southern city of Sderot on Wednesday. Police forces arrived at the scene. There are no wounded, but property damage was reported. According to IDF spokesperson unit, the damage was done by machine gun fire from terrorists in the Strip.

“The IDF considers this incident with severity and holds the terrorist organization Hamas responsible for everything that takes place within and without the Gaza Strip,” said the statement.

IDF spokesperson for the Arab media distributed a video Wednesday which shows Hamas official Dr. Salah Albardawil saying 50 of those killed during Monday’s protest were Hamas activists.Albardawil said this in response to claims that Hamas is sending youths to die as political fodder.

The high death toll during Monday’s protests triggered international criticism and condemnation, with calls for a UN inquiry and a diplomatic skuffle between Turkey and Israel.

On Tuesday, two Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire and 160 were wounded during protests on the Gaza border, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

One of the dead was identified as Nasser Aourab, 51. He and another Palestinian were both killed east of Al-Bureij refugee camp. Most of wounded suffered from tear gas inhalation.

Around 4,000 protesters gathered Tuesday night at six locations along the border fence of the Gaza Strip, as many of the 62 Palestinians killed by the IDF on Monday were buried.

The IDF said that at least 24 out of the 62 were militants – most of them members of Hamas and some of Islamic Jihad.